Infertility treatments

Applications for approval and payment can be made through the online families.web.

Currently, the written form requirement for applications (still) applies. This means you must print out the applications, sign them and submit them by mail to the Münster district government.

The responsible approval authority is the Münster district government:

Münster District Government
. Albrecht-Thaer-Strasse 9
48147 Münster
Phone: 0251 411-2287
E-mail: kinderwunschbehandlung@brms.nrw.de

If you have any questions regarding the application and submission of documents, please contact the Münster district government.

Why is infertility treatment financially supported by the country?

For the Ministry of Family Affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia, a good and modern family policy also means supporting couples with an unfulfilled desire to have children. These are to be relieved financially by the support with the treatment costs.

Which costs are covered by health insurance?

The statutory health insurance usually covers 50 percent of the treatment costs for the first 3 attempts.
Ask directly to your health insurance company, what portion of the costs they cover.

What is the financial support of the country?

The financial support is graduated as follows:

• For married couples:
  . The subsidy amounts to up to 50 percent of the co-payment remaining to the married couples after deduction of the health insurance benefit.
• For unmarried couples:
  The subsidy is for the 1st to 3rd treatment cycle up to 25 percent of the remaining personal contribution and for the 4th treatment cycle 50 percent.

The personal contribution is the share of the treatment costs, which remains after settlement with the statutory or private health insurance and, if necessary, the aid office or other service providers for yourself.

The state subsidy, however, amounts to a maximum of:

• For the 1st to 3rd treatment cycle:
  • IVF treatment each up to 800 euros
  .
  • ICSI treatment each up to 900 euros
  .
• For the 4th treatment cycle:
  • IVF treatment up to 1,600 euros
  .
  • ICSI treatment up to 1,800 euros
  .

Additional flat rate for unmarried couples in NRW:

If you are unmarried and your health insurance does not cover treatment costs, you can receive an additional lump sum in North Rhine-Westphalia. This so-called "NRW lump sum" of a maximum of 270 euros is provided for the first 3 treatment attempts.

What types of treatment are encouraged?

The following types of treatment are funded in the 1st through 4th treatment cycles:

• In vitro fertilization (IVF)
.
• Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
.

In in vitro fertilization (IVF) - Latin for "fertilization in a jar" - eggs are first removed from the woman's ovaries. Outside the body, they are then brought together in a glass dish with sperm cells obtained beforehand. If the fertilization was successful, one, sometimes two or three of the fertilized eggs are inserted into the woman's uterus two days later.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is used when the condition and consistency of the sperm are not sufficient for fertilization. In ICSI, a sperm cell is injected directly into the egg previously retrieved from the ovary. The fertilized egg is then reinserted into the uterus.

On the Familienportal.NRW pages Unfulfilled desire to have children and Treatment for infertility you will find further information on possible causes of unwanted childlessness and treatment methods.

Many other helpful information on the topic of infertility can also be found on the following websites:

• Information portal on wanting children
.
• Federal Center for Health Education
• Federal Family Portal
  

Who can apply for funding from the country?

Receive the grant

• married couples,
• unmarried heterosexual couples, provided that a long-term cohabitation* exists. (* A long-term cohabitation is characterized by an inner bond. It is to be assumed if, according to the assessment of the attending physician, the unmarried woman lives together with the unmarried man in a firmly established partnership.)
.

What conditions must be met for the promotion?

The following requirements apply for the promotion:

• The couple has its main residence in North Rhine-Westphalia,
.
• the couple undergoes treatment in the 1st to 4th treatment cycle according to the type of in vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI),
.
• the treatment takes place in a reproductive facility that is located in North Rhine-Westphalia,
.
• the couple meets the requirements of § 27 a SGB V. These are:
  • The infertility must have been medically determined,
  .
  • the prospect of success of the fertility treatment must be attested,
  .
  • only the eggs and sperm of the (spouse) partner may be used,
  • before treatment, medical or psychosocial counseling must have taken place,
  .
  • the partners must be at least 25 years old; as a woman you must not yet have reached the age of 40 and as a man the age of 50.
• In the case of unmarried heterosexual couples, the doctor must have established a permanent cohabitation.

Please be sure to note that treatment can only be funded if you have not yet begun treatment for the particular eligible treatment cycle.

What documents are required?

• Proof of the couple's main residence in NRW
.
• Treatment plan
• Personal identification card (age limit)
• Medical statement that the measure is necessary
.
• Statement of cost coverage from the health insurance
.
• Proof that the treatment will be carried out in a fertility clinic in NRW
.
• Heterosexual non-marital cohabitation also require proof that they do not receive any other funding from the statutory or private health insurance or aid or other service providers
.

Here you can download the certificate of necessity for measures of fertility treatment.

Following you can download a checklist for the procedure and the documents to be submitted by the Münster district government.

Which time sequence is to be observed?

Please note that financial support is only possible if the application for funding has been submitted before the treatment. The treatment may only be started after receipt of the grant notice.

Treatment must be completed within 11 months of receipt of the grant notice.

You can download an infographic about the process below

What steps may you take even before the treatment is carried out?

• Get medical advice about the treatment, especially about the medical and psychosocial aspects from a medical professional who is not performing the treatment himself/herself
.
• To obtain the medical statement on the necessity of carrying out the measure and the prospects of success of the treatment.
.
• The treatment plan including the cost breakdown of the reproductive medical facility may be obtained.
.
• Obtaining the cost assumption statement by the respective health insurance or other service providers.

The processing time of grant applications is approximately 4 to 6 weeks. Payment of the grant is made at the latest at the end of the grant period.

Bases for financial assistance for medical infertility treatment are:

Guideline of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens,
Women and Youth on the granting of grants
. for the promotion of measures of assisted reproduction
. of March 29, 2012, last amended on December 23, 2015

Guideline on the Granting of Grants for
Promotion of assisted reproduction
measures. by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Assisted Reproduction Guideline) of August 22, 2019

NRW Administrative Agreement on the Implementation of the Guideline of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth on the Granting of Allowances for the Promotion of Assisted Reproduction Measures